Lamu County Commissioner, Joseph Kanyirim confirmed the incident, saying the militants raided a village in the region and destroyed telecommunication masts belonging to firm Safaricom, disrupting communication in the area.

Reports indicate that the militants attacked a Rapid Deployment Unit camp in the area.
Coast regional police commander Philip Tuimur said security troops responded to the attackers and exchanged fire with them.

The engagement is ongoing and we are waiting for more response from the ground,” he said.

Locals said the incident started late in the night on Tuesday.

Security agents including those from Kenya Defence Forces rushed to the scene and it was not immediately clear if there were casualties.

NAN reports that Kenyan soldiers are fighting al-shabaab under the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) that has lost hundreds of soldiers in camp attacks.